Karnataka again cracks down on Uber bikes

Uber had restarted its bike taxi pilot in Bengaluru, pivoting it to a ride-sharing model in order to navigate the restrictions placed by the Karnataka government

Karnataka has once again cracked down on Uber’s bike taxi pilot, exactly two weeks after the company restarted it as a ride-sharing service. The authorities on Friday seized close to 20 motorcycle operating on the platform, reaffirming that bike taxis in whatever form were not allowed on Bengaluru’s roads.

On March 18, Uber had restarted its bike taxi pilot in Bengaluru, pivoting it to a ride-sharing model in order to navigate the restrictions put in place by the Karnataka government. The company had said that it would not make any money from the service for the period of the pilot and would share data with the government to justify its utility.

“They are playing startup tricks. They don’t have the permission to operate bike taxis as they are registered as private vehicles. They need to get these motorcycles registered on yellow board and drivers have to procure transport licences,” said Narendra Holkar, joint commissioner of Karnataka’s transport department.

Currently, India’s motor vehicle act does not have a provision for yellow boards on two-wheelers which is required for commercial operations. Karnataka had asked ride-hailing services such as Uber, Ola and Ridingo to approach the Road Transport Authority (RTA) in order to seek provisions for operating bike taxis legally.

Following a crackdown on bike taxis in Bengaluru on March 4, Ola had suspended its service, however, Uber was accused of non-compliance. Close to 80 motorcycles operating on Uber’s platform were seized, with a fine of Rs 3,000 levied for the release of each of them, forcing the company to suspend the service.

“We are in consultation with the Government of Karnataka and are closely working on ways to build the necessary regulatory framework. During the period of this pilot service, we are not charging any service fee and will be submitting a key findings report that will address the viability of this service, its impact on congestion and last mile connectivity,” said Bhavik Rathod, General Manager for South and West regions at Uber.

Bike taxis are a popular mode of transport in Southeast Asian countries which face similar traffic congestion issues which many Indian cities suffer from.

Uber and Ola are positioning their bike taxi services as short haul, last-mile connectivity services that will benefit end consumers by being very affordable and also reducing travel time. The Karnataka government has a long standing beef with Uber and Ola and is in the process of formulating a set of rules for app-based taxi hailing services. The draft submitted by state government called for these services to ditch surge pricing, follow a state-prescribed fare chart and install digital meters in cabs.